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Author Topic: On The WaterFront prompt help  (Read 5542 times)  Share 

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Zidane

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On The WaterFront prompt help
« on: August 04, 2012, 05:35:23 pm »
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Hey guys so we got an essay on the waterfront, and i tried thinking of some ideas/main points to talk about during my essay but i just cant manage to think of something. your ideas/viewpoints are very much appreciated  :)

so this is the prompt "Kazan uses a range of cinematic devices to reveal the emotional and moral struggle of Terry Malloy. Discuss"

Thanks guys!!

Yendall

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Re: On The WaterFront prompt help
« Reply #1 on: August 04, 2012, 06:13:43 pm »
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Break apart the prompt. What I would do with this prompt is address three different areas of Terry Malloy's struggles.
Terry's obvious struggle is deciding which is the correct moral path to take in regards to the corruption of the docks. Dedicate body paragraphs to maybe:
  • Terry's struggle with Johnny Friendly
  • Terry's entrapment between lust (Edie) and danger (defying Johnny Friendly)
  • Terry's ultimate struggle of choosing what is morally right (speaking up, or acting through cowardice)

Obviously those are 'rough' ideas to work with. What you need to consider while addressing this prompt is the use of cinematic techniques, which can be implemented in each paragraph. Remember that a cinematic device is not necessarily things like "film-noir". You can use examples like Kazans choice of showing close-up shots of Terry's face to show inner-confusion, or camera shots of Johnny Friendly looking down upon the longshoremen to show struggle on the docks. But you must address 'the emotional and moral struggle of Terry Malloy' as the dominant point.

Sorry if this isn't much help, it's been a while since I've studied this (Term 1) and I need to review it more. However, I hope that is a little bit of an outline on what you could do.
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Zidane

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Re: On The WaterFront prompt help
« Reply #2 on: August 04, 2012, 10:19:37 pm »
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Thanks Yendall!!!  :) i wasn't sure how to approach the prompt, i had terrys struggles on one side but i didnt know how to intertwine them with the 'cinematic devices' , so i was a bit stuck there haha, but  this gives me a clearer picture.   what do you mean 'sorry if this isnt much help' ?!?! that was perfect.  Thanks Yendall That was really helpful i appreciate it!!! :D

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Re: On The WaterFront prompt help
« Reply #3 on: August 05, 2012, 03:06:17 pm »
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If I get a question like.... Terry Malloy is incapable of action without the support of others. Do you agree?.... can I base my paragraphs around characters.... like Terry needs Edie to help him, Father Bazza to help him, but then he can also eventually act by himself..... or is it not good to base my paragraphs around characters like this way?

Yendall

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Re: On The WaterFront prompt help
« Reply #4 on: August 05, 2012, 03:11:24 pm »
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If I get a question like.... Terry Malloy is incapable of action without the support of others. Do you agree?.... can I base my paragraphs around characters.... like Terry needs Edie to help him, Father Bazza to help him, but then he can also eventually act by himself..... or is it not good to base my paragraphs around characters like this way?
You can base your paragraphs around characters, however if you have a topic sentence along the lines of "Terry needs Edie to help him", then you're not showing your depth of knowledge. You show how that character affects him in your topic sentence, like "Edie influences  Terry that he needs to undergo a moral transformation in order to redeem himself, and she does so through personal support". Or something along those lines (that topic sentence is a little long), don't be too simple and also don't be too broad, find a middle ground.
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Re: On The WaterFront prompt help
« Reply #5 on: August 05, 2012, 04:22:41 pm »
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If I get a question like.... Terry Malloy is incapable of action without the support of others. Do you agree?.... can I base my paragraphs around characters.... like Terry needs Edie to help him, Father Bazza to help him, but then he can also eventually act by himself..... or is it not good to base my paragraphs around characters like this way?
You can base your paragraphs around characters, however if you have a topic sentence along the lines of "Terry needs Edie to help him", then you're not showing your depth of knowledge. You show how that character affects him in your topic sentence, like "Edie influences  Terry that he needs to undergo a moral transformation in order to redeem himself, and she does so through personal support". Or something along those lines (that topic sentence is a little long), don't be too simple and also don't be too broad, find a middle ground.

Yes I obviously know that but I'm just asking whether it's wrong to base your paragraphs around character because you're kind of basing your topic sentence around evidence/examples rather than broad ideas or themes.
« Last Edit: August 05, 2012, 04:24:34 pm by Deleted User »

dilks

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Re: On The WaterFront prompt help
« Reply #6 on: August 06, 2012, 06:29:56 pm »
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If I get a question like.... Terry Malloy is incapable of action without the support of others. Do you agree?.... can I base my paragraphs around characters.... like Terry needs Edie to help him, Father Bazza to help him, but then he can also eventually act by himself..... or is it not good to base my paragraphs around characters like this way?
You can base your paragraphs around characters, however if you have a topic sentence along the lines of "Terry needs Edie to help him", then you're not showing your depth of knowledge. You show how that character affects him in your topic sentence, like "Edie influences  Terry that he needs to undergo a moral transformation in order to redeem himself, and she does so through personal support". Or something along those lines (that topic sentence is a little long), don't be too simple and also don't be too broad, find a middle ground.

Yes I obviously know that but I'm just asking whether it's wrong to base your paragraphs around character because you're kind of basing your topic sentence around evidence/examples rather than broad ideas or themes.

I think that you both are kind of ignoring the importance of cinematic devices in this question. Looking at the characters and themes is indeed necessary to understand what Terry's moral and emotional struggle is. But you will not get the best score (at least in the exam) if you do not address how this is revealed through the cinematic devices used in the film, and students who do interact with the cinematic devices and symbolism of this film invariably score higher than students who focus on the merely narrative details.

Some examples of devices for you to think about in relation to how they reveal Terry's internal struggle: The symbolic framing of Terry behind and in front of fences, cages and gates; the religious iconography of the film (a hint: it evelates Terry's struggle not only to the level of a battle between good and evil, and to a search for redemption, but ultimately to the level of a Christ figure) and let's not forget the bludgeoningly obvious motif of crufixion within all that; the relationship between public and private space in the film and the invasion of the latter by Friendly's goons; the narrative similarities to Romeo and Juliet; Terry's jacket; the bird motifs; double-binds; the motif of bet-fixing; symbolic use of deep space in relation to Manhatten and the State Empire building; symbolic use of fog; the Marxist and Neoclassical subtexts; symbolic use of gloves; place and patterning; use of light and shadow; music; etc.

An analysis of some of these, or other cinematic elements, ought to be present in an A+ essay to this kind of prompt.
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